Review: Star Wars Black Series Han Solo (Endor) from Return of the Jedi, Galaxy Collection Wave 2
- Mephitsu
- May 9
- 4 min read
“I have a really bad feeling about this.”
In 2020, the Star Wars Black Series releases included a Return of the Jedi theme, headlined by that year's SDCC Exclusive, The Heroes of Endor set featuring new figures of Luke, Han, Leia, and Paploo from the battle of Endor. Han, Luke, and Leia went on to get single releases in the fledgling Phase 4 Galaxy Collection, included in the 2nd full wave of general releases alongside figures including Cad Bane, The Armorer, Hoth Rebel Soldier, and Phase I Clone Trooper. The Return of the Jedi figures were given a green accent colour in the new packaging, which was used on the text and side artwork. Han Solo is number 05 in the ROTJ series, and the side artwork for Han follows on from the Luke Skywalker Endor release, and onward to the 2021 release of Boba Fett
The Han Solo features a sculpted body that borrows from the Bespin Han in places, giving us Solo in his trademark off-white open shirt, a black waistcoat, brown trousers with yellow trim, and black knee-high boots. Each component is cast in the base colour, then assembled, with the only significant decor applied to the sculpted belt buckle and on the yellow piping of the trousers.
Over all of this base costume sits Han’s gunslinger belt, complete with its holster, thigh strapping, and large silver buckle and fastenings. And finally, the costume is complete with the soft goods Endor trench coat. This soft good coat is brown in base colour, and has a camouflage pattern which almost looks tie-died in places. It is tailored and stitched around the hems, with a stitched collar and sleeves. The material is not quite as soft as the Jedi robes or the ponchos used on Leia and Luke, but it does sit naturally enough on Han’s frame and can even be splayed out at the back as though caught in the Endor winds.
The headsculpt is a good likeness to Harrison Ford circa 1983 and one of the better Han Solos to date, on par with the Bespin Han from Empire Strikes Back. Photo-real decor is applied to the eyes, mouth, and with some minor shading around the nose and hairline. The expression is left quite serious and without any attempt to mimic Ford’s trademark smirk.
The figure also has the ability, to some degree, to be converted into the Han who escapes Jabba’s Palace. To do this, the coat and waistcoat need to be removed, and while everything underneath is sculpted and coloured, the chest proportions don’t quite look right. Han is also wearing his gunbelt, so that would need to be cut off if you wanted to pair this figure with the existing Han in Carbonite or as part of a Jabba’s Palace diorama, and that would still leave you with the sculpted thigh star,p which is part of the leg itself.
Han’s only accessory is his blaster, the usual DL-44 in black plastic with brown painted grip and silver barrel. As is usually the issue with these, the barrel is easily warped, particularly when it is pushed into the working holster on Han’s belt. It sits in Han’s right hand, otherwise with the flexible trigger finger adjusting into place for firing positions.
Han has 16 points of articulation, an older configuration that includes double-jointed knees with pins, carried over from the original Han Solo figures. There is sufficient range for most of Han’s poses, even his apologetic shrug to the Imperials when he tricks them out of the Endor bunker. The benefit of the soft goods coat is that this does not impede the joints and works with the articulation for a reasonably wide range of posing positions.
The Endor release of Han Solo from Return of the Jedi is a figure that has two, arguably three, distinct looks, allowing you to match most of Han’s scenes from Return of the Jedi from just the single purchase. The figure looks the part with or without the soft goods trenchcoat, and the coat itself is both a nice nod to the original Kenner figures, while also being accurate and functional enough for the Black Series line. The headsculpt is one fo the better Harrison Ford looks, but Hasbro might have been braver in attempting his trademark smirk. Releasing Han alongside Luke & Leia from the same Endor strike team adds to the selling point of the figure, allowing the group to be assembled in a larger display along with a Chewbacca, R2, and C-3PO.
Keep Track of all the Star Wars Black Series figures from Hasbro at our comprehensive
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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